(AP) — The largest electric company in Kansas will have a new executive overseeing its accounting operations in November.

Westar Energy announced Tuesday the promotion of assistant controller Kevin Kongs to controller and vice president, effective Nov. 8. The decision was made by the company’s board of directors.

Kongs will replace Lee Wages, who has been Westar’s controller since 1999. Wages is retiring after working at Westar for 36 years.

Kongs has been assistant controller since 2006. In 2012 and 2013, he was project co-leader for an upgrade of the company’s accounting computer systems.

Westar has nearly 700,000 customers.